Hades Ale | Great Divide Brewing Company

0 characters.
We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters. Awesome. Thanks for the review!

In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.

More User Reviews:

One of the few beers from one of my favorite breweries that I had not tried yet,for one Iam not a huge fan of the style,but I was thinkin that maybe GD put their own little spin to this.Poured into a large tulip glass a clear light to medium golden with a very tight sticky one finger bone white head that left broken lace behind as it settled pretty slowly.A mix of overripe pineapple,green apple,and light spicey yeast in the nose,with just a hint of herbal/leaf.Mouthfeel is a little light but not overly watered down,flavors are a little lighter than expected with some phenolic-like clove flavors and some medicinal qualities.Its ok but there are to many traits in this brew that makes me not a huge fan of the style,like say the medicinal compnonent,but in saying that its decent for the style and I wont grade it down because of my feelings about the style.

Very light and clear golden straw color, with a wispy, kind of sad head atop. Completely filtered, which always bums me out when dealing with a bottle of Belgian-style ale. Bottled on April 3, a little under 2 months ago. Bottle says 7.8%, not 7.3 as listed above.

Almost entirely yeast on the nose, with a bit of butter and honey. The aroma has kind of an off spice note kind of sour smelling. Not very pungent or pleasing.

The flavor first hits with light sweetness, honey maybe, then kicks in with yeast spice and clove, then finishes with that slightly off, somewhat astringent spice note again. Mouthfeel is plenty dry and peppery and it makes for one of the more refreshing 7.8% you may have. The goods just don't really do it for me.

A: light golden with great clarity and a long lasting white head of rocky bubbles that leaves some lacing. A larger head would be nice but it is likely the fault of my glass.

S: The overall impression of the aroma is spice from the yeast and hops. A moderately-strong fruity and spicy Belgian yeast aromas of pepper, oranges, peaches and a touch of ginger. There is a moderate Continental hops aroma being a spicy and a bit floral.

T: Strong complex spice flavors mostly pepper with a little ginger and all-spice. There is a moderate fruitiness of oranges, pears and apricots. There is a some malt flavor and a moderately-strong hops bitterness with a moderate spicy hops flavor. The balance is firmly bitter with a very dry finish and a lingering hops bitterness.

M: A medium-light bodied beer with moderately-strong carbonation.

O: A Belgian Pale Ale with a pronounced spice character derived mostly from the yeast with the hops lending a hand.

Belgian beer has yet to peak, as more American brewers are inspired each day--jumping right in or just simply dabbling with a beer or two. Great Divide has jumped in and released Hades.

The white head is not shy at all, as it quickly expands to the top of the glass, leaving lace that has no problem staying for the duration. The pale golden color shows off a bright clarity and a substantial amount of tiny bubbles racing to the top. Borderline pungent aroma of chalky, fruity yeast, hints of peppery, estery alcohol and biscuity malt in the back. There is certainly no lack of crispness here as it rips through the moderate body. Right away, the flavors go toward yeasty bitter herbal phenols with layers of spicy peppery alcohol, fruity yeast and a biscuity base malt character that seems to hold everything together. There's a tight kernel of maltiness middle-to-end that vanishes quickly as the dry finish sets in with lingering yeast and bitter phenol.

The flavor profile is bursting at the seams, yet there is a level of drinkablity that stays true even for its slightly higher than average ABV. A rare Belgian yeast strain is used and it shows, the rarest of the Trappist brews come to mind with each sip--a guess, of course. A bullseye for Great Divide here, it's great to see a craft brewer tackle such a temperamental style and come out on top.

I saw the review after buying this beer, and much to my surprise, I was blown away. As someone who is recently getting into the Belgian strong pale, I found the Hades to be very well balanced, especially drinkable and perfect at the evening BBQ I was attending. The consensus around the table was clear. Hades is a damn tasty beer. Maybe because I got a very fresh (new label) bottle, but this was no "B" beer. Kudos to Great Divide

22 oz bottle. Pours a clear golden yellow with a fizzy white head that quickly diminishes.

The aroma is musty yeast with slight banana and clove and some sweet malts in the background.

The flavor is sweet malts, slightly sugary, with some banana and cloves and a little corn. The mouthfeel is medium with a good amount of carbonation.

Overall, a mediocre outing from Great Divide. I normally enjoy their beers, but this tastes kind of like a Belgian malt liquor. It does improve some as it warms and I enjoy it more as I get through the bottle.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a tulip glass. Information on the bottle includes a short description of the beer, a "Bottled On" date and the abv% (7.8).

Appearance: The body has a light golden color with very fine sediment hanging around inside giving it a slight haze. The head is bright white, about an inch tall from the pour and slowly fads to a thin light cap. This cap hangs on well and it also makes some cool lacy fingers on the glass.

Smell: The aroma has solid fruity, yeasty and slightly funky character over a light pale biscuity maltiness.

Taste/Palate: The flavor reflects this with a fruity and dusty yeast showing notes of pear and spice with mild floral/herbal hop bitterness over a pale malty base. Dry spicy yeast and mild hop bitterness linger on in the finish which sets you up for the next sip.

Notes: I am very impressed with this great example of a Belgian Strong Pale Ale from Great Divide!!!

Bomber bottle, notches on the label tell me this was brewed and bottled in August '07, its fresh. Pours very light and clear, under a loose white head that leaves fine and crisp lacing, that show nice irregular and stringy formations. I like nice lacing and this one shows off some mighty nice lace. Bright nose of fresh pepper, bubblegum, medicinal and as another reviewer some sharp piss notes as well. Love the style and I'm intrigued by this offering from Great Divide. Plenty of Belgian yeasty notes, more bubble gum, pepper and assorted spice. heady, tasty and thirst quenching stuff. Nice, full throttle summery beer, bring on the cheese, salads, bread, etc and enjoy. Surprised by some of the unfavorable reviews for this tasty offering

S- I smell nothing, honestly. Well, very little. I do get a little bit of nice Belgian aromatics when I jam my nose in the glass.

T- This is a well done Belgian. Tastes like a Belgian and not a "US Belgian". Nice bready, spicey, candied fruit notes. Dried pear. Straw. Very reminiscent of La Choufe. Could be done with their yeast. Slight notes of pepper. Corriander? Grains of Paradise? A very nice example of the style.

M- It's thin and watery, but full of flavor, just like it's supposed to be.

D- This is totally sessionable. Granted, I would be pretty tossed after a sixer, 7.3% isn't as deadly as the usual 9%+ often associated with this style.

Tasty brew, similar notes as in the nose. Nice apple banana flavor, and the funkiness reminds me of many a Belgian ale. Grain to the finish along with some floral notes. Moderate to light body, carbonation is somewhat high. A bit oily.

Hades opens with a strong Belgian nose, heavy with banana and clove, and bearing strong touches of pineapple, pear, white grape, cherry, and heavy syrup fruit cocktail. It’s immediately apparent that there are a lot of sugars in here, as not only are there plenty of fruit esters to go around, but brown sugar, candi sugar, and light caramel as well. Such sweetness is barely kept in check by hints of French baguette, toasted wheat, and floury white bread dough, as well as a mere smattering of grapefruit from the hops. As a whole, the nose is obviously heavily biased toward fruit and clove, and while a bit more complementary aromas would have been nice, the beer has still been obviously crafted well.

On the tongue, the first notes are a massive banana and clove blast, followed almost immediately by pineapple, cherry, pear, and white grape. The 7.8% ABV is also immediately apparent in a vodka-like tinge, giving the beer a strong cocktail feel, and slightly burning the tongue. Brown sugar and caramel add further sugars, and the bready notes here lend an undercurrent of toast crust, wheat dough, and floury baguette. There’s also a peppery spiciness, which combines with the alcohol to create further heat. Some rosewater and pine, as well as grapefruit rind, come from the hops. The aftertaste is a continuation of the strong fruit sugar and clove flavors, with extra pepper and burn from the alcohol, and lingers on the tongue for a long time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium to medium-high, further adding to the burn.

Overall, this is good beer, and certainly one of the stronger-tasting Belgians on the market. The sheer volume of flavor in here, especially present in the variety and complexity of sugars, is impressive. Unfortunately, the beer gets slightly carried away with these notes, especially as they combine with the heavy alcohol burn, and the result, while delicious, is at the same time slightly overwhelming and distracting, creating a sensation of vodka-soaked fruit cocktail. Worth trying, but beware the burn.

Pours crystal clear straw colored under a sudsy white foam cap. Bread and yeast on the nose and palate with light fruit. A very creamy rich texture with a medium light body and above average carbonation.